Anomaly Tale
by The River's Will
Summary: Before they can enjoy their "happy" endings, an anomaly occurs. Chara and Frisk touch a button at the same moment, sending them into each other's timeline. What will happen when a pacifist Frisk is faced with sins they never committed? Or when a genocidal Chara sees the faces of those once thought to be slain? Cover art by Da-insane-Bacca
1. Anomaly

**(AN: So I read Swaptale by scotchtapeofficial over on tumblr recently and really fell in love with the idea they were going for. Since I found out that they wouldn't be continuing it, either indefinitely or for a while, I decided to take the story and put my own twist on it and got permission to do it! So while the intros might not be exactly the same, this story is mostly based just on the premise of what Swaptale is. Which is something I want to stress; this is just a fanfic on the idea. Thank you all for your time, and for reading my story! I hope you enjoy it because this will be a long _tale_.)**

* * *

"Sans...I figured I would see you here."

The skeleton with the blue hoodie shrugged, "i'm sure it wasn't much of a surprise, you've fallen a lot to get here...chara." He pointed a bony finger towards the child, "you should have left us the way we were the first time."

A laugh came over Chara, and they grinned at Sans, "But it's so much more fun with everyone together, isn't it? I just got so lonely...and now we can always play together!" The bangs covering their eyes were brushed aside as Chara darted towards Sans, knife in hand. Three bones appeared from nowhere and pushed Chara back.

Sans stepped back, "i should have known you were a monster from the start." The room went black and white, yet the only color came from Sans's blue eye. Four boxes came up from the ground; "FIGHT", "ACT", "ITEMS", or "MERCY".

Chara laughed again, and stared at Sans with completely red eyes, "YoU WeRE aLWaYs a fOOL!" They smashed the FIGHT button.

* * *

 **-=IN A DIFFERENT TIMELINE=-**

Frisk sat up, dazed. On their way back to the ruins they had tripped and fallen, but excitedly got back up, running to the area where it all began. They had just managed to break the barrier open, sparing everyone that they met, making friends with all those around them. It was the hardest thing they had to do, and almost everyone put up a fight, but Frisk managed throughout their entire journey, not once killing a soul. Now, going back through the underground, seeing everyone's expression when they found out they were free...it filled them with determination.

And as the young child stumbled into the first room for the last time, they saw Asriel standing there, looking at the flowers.

Without turning to face Frisk, Asriel spoke, "I didn't want to give myself false hope but...I figured I would see you here." He turned and gave Frisk a weak grin, "I assume you're here to kill me right? After all I've done, I don't think I could accept mercy." Frisk stopped Asriel from talking anymore by giving the boy a hug.

Asriel, stunned by this action, stood still before slowly returning the gesture. Tears were welling up in his eyes when Frisk said, "I'll always be here to comfort you, we're friends aren't we?"

"Yeah, I guess so," He chuckled. Asriel could stay in Frisk's grasp forever, there was so much love pouring from this being's SOUL that it really made himself feel as if everything was going to be okay. Unfortunately, there wasn't much time left, so he pushed away from Frisk gently. The kid looked confused, "I have to go Frisk, but thank you for coming all the way here just to comfort me."

"Wait, where are you going? Come with us to the outside!"

"I can't, Frisk. It takes too much to maintain this form. Eventually, I'll return back to Flowey, but please, never forget about me." Frisk nodded, and smiled. Asriel appeared happy and his form very slowly became more transparent, until there was nothing left.

Suddenly, a mound in the middle of the field of the yellow flowers grew bigger and a flower popped out, "UGH! I didn't think it would take that long….AH!" Flowey noticed Frisk standing close to him, "What?! Are you here to 'mercy' me to death again? Don't think I'll go easy on ya!" Everything turned black and white, and four options abruptly came up before Frisk; "FIGHT", "ACT", "ITEMS", or "MERCY". Frisk chose ACT to try and reason with the golden flower.

"Come on Flowey, everyone is free to leave the underground now! Let's go together, it'll be fun."

Flowey furiously shook his head, "Don't sweet talk me with your words human!" Ten small white specks appeared in front of the flower and flew at Frisk. They sighed to themselves and expertly dodged them, "Grrr! Why are you so hard to kill?!" Frisk only smiled, knowing that the only option was to Spare the poor flower. Frisk placed their hand over the MERCY button.

* * *

 **-=BOTH TIMELINES=-**

A feeling of dread came over both Chara and Frisk. Both their SOULs felt heavy, a massive pressure was being exerted on the two. They grunted in agony, closing their eyes as they were being pushed down. When they tried to peer through the pain, they noticed that instead of their original opponents, they were staring at each other. One with a green and yellow striped shirt, the other with purple and blue. One that fought with love, and the other that fought with LOVE. Both were equally shocked.

"Wh-who are you?" Frisk asked, the pressure seeming to ease up on them.

Yet the one across from themselves still seemed to be in pain, and, through gritted teeth, spat out, "Why...why are you GETtiNG iN MY WAy?!" Chara tried to move towards Frisk, swinging the knife around erratically.

Frisk avoided the heavy strikes and asked, though frightened, "Why are you trying to hurt me, what's going on?"

"Grr...JUST DIE!" Chara screamed putting all of their weight into the attack. Before the blade could even touch Frisk, they disappeared. Momentarily confused, Chara stared at the blank void they were in, before they too, vanished.

…

A laugh echoed throughout the void.

"L37 7H3 G4M3 B3G1N."

* * *

 **-=FRISK=-**

A bright light encompassed Frisk, blinding them. Painful rays of white pierced through their closed eyelids, so they put up their arm in hopes the sleeve would help. Once it had faded, Frisk opened their eyes to see they were now in the Judgment Hall. Soft light poured in from the windows, giving the golden tiled floor a gentle shine. Birds chirped in the distance, contributing to the tranquil scene. Yet, something wasn't right.

Frisk shouldn't have been in that hall in the first place, and why was Sans there, staring at them? There was no friendliness emanating from the goofy skeleton, just bitterness. The atmosphere here was nothing like Frisk had ever felt before, devoid of any feeling. Even the calmness the environment provided was suffocated by this horrible feeling.

"Sans, what's going on?" Frisk asked shakily, but received no answer. They looked down, shocked to see that their hand was on a broken FIGHT button, "Wait what? Why is this happening Sans?"

But he just laughed, and Frisk noted how hollow it was, "don't play dumb with me. after what you did, it should make complete sense what's going on."

"No Sans, listen to me!" Frisk pleaded, "There's some mistake!"

Sans looked down, "you're too far gone...someone like you…" His expression went dark, " **Should be burning in hell.** "

* * *

 **-=CHARA=-**

"Mercy? This again!?" A familiar voice shouted, "Why are you so kind?!"

"SHUT UP!" Chara shouted back.

Flowey shrunk back, not expecting to hear such a forceful response, "Wait, that sounded like someone I used to know. Is that you, Chara?"

Chara stared at the flower, "No, Asriel?"

"Chara! I-I never thought you would come back!" The little flower wiggled around with happiness.

Chara clenched their teeth and gripped the knife, "What did you do? You interrupted my fight with Sans."

"What are you talking about?" Flowey slowly stopped moving.

"Even after death, you're still getting in my way." Chara tried to make a move towards Flowey, but noticed their hand was stuck to the MERCY button, "Urgh! Come on!"

"W-what were you going to do Chara? Friend?"

"Friend?" The word made Chara smile malevolently, their red eyes beaming once again, "If you really want to know, I was about to KILL YOU!"

"H-huh?" Flowey's smile had left as fear surged through his tiny body.

"Well GO ON! Use an attack so it'll be my turn!" Chara screamed, still trying to get their hand off MERCY. Instead, the shivering flower quickly ducked underground, appearing to have run off.

Chara scoffed, "Coward…"

"hey pal, whatcha, uh, doing over here?" A familiar voice said behind Chara, who slowly turned their head to face the speaker. A cold sweat broke out over the murderer as, not only was Sans standing before them, but also everyone they had killed; Toriel, Papyrus, and Undyne. Even that craven Alphys was with them.

"Oh my god." Chara muttered.

* * *

 **-=FRISK=-**

"Sans, you don't understand!"

Dozens of bones flew at Frisk, all aiming at their SOUL, yet they easily dodged them. Sweat was dripping from every pore as they sensed that same feeling of dread when they arrived here. It felt like ACTing was pointless, but at this point, everything felt pointless to Frisk. Their friend was attacking them mercilessly. Sans's first attack nearly killed Frisk, and unfortunately for them, they didn't have any healing items. Their friend only had one goal in mind, and they could see it plain as day; to kill Frisk. It drowned out everything that they knew about the skeleton. There was no Sparing in this fight, nor MERCY. Someone was going to die, and that was all.

"looks like this is it for you, kiddo." Four gaster blasters appeared in front of Sans.

This was too much. Frisk couldn't take it anymore. They dropped to their knees and put wounded hands over their head. Tears were already falling on the beautiful floor, "Please help me! Toriel! Undyne! Papyrus!" Frisk sobbed. They didn't care anymore, they wanted someone, anyone, to help them. Any moment now, Frisk would be blasted away. Yet the attack never came.

"why…" Frisk looked up to see Sans standing still, "why are you calling for them?" A tear fell from his blue eye now white, "i just don't get it...after everything that you've done." Sans stared into Frisk's SOUL, "is this some kind of sick joke? calling for my brother's name? Just what are you after?!" More tears ran down Frisk's face, that was the first time they had ever heard emotion in Sans's speech.

"was it not enough that you killed him? now you're going to mock me emotionally? that's low, even for you kid!" Frisk's SOUL turned blue and they skid along the floor towards Sans. Roughly grabbing Frisk's collar and lifting them up, Sans spoke, "those that received no mercy from you. those that were wronged by your hands," Sans looked down, hiding his face from Frisk, " **I am their mercy. I am their vengeance.** " Frisk struggled to get out of Sans's hold, but the skeleton gazed back up at Frisk with his one blue eye.

" **I am JUDGMENT** **!** "

* * *

 **-=CHARA=-**

It was like something out of a nightmare, to see all of their faces again. Chara had thought they were dead, for good, but yet...how was this possible? They shook their head. This was obviously not the same place they were just at. Sans wasn't even attacking them on first glance, in fact, the skeleton acted like he did when they first met. Perhaps it was a trick of his, to capture them off guard.

Sans spoke, cutting off Chara's thoughts, "you okay kiddo? you've been starin' at us for a while now."

"WELL, FRISK DID RUN OFF WITHOUT US! WHO KNOW'S WHAT THE CHILD HAS GONE THROUGH!" Papyrus jumped in happily.

"oh?" A mischievous grin grew on his face, "i guess you could say..."

"SANS, DON'T"

"they were a bit **_bonely_**." Sans winked.

"URGGGHHHHH"

"Not bad, _**bonehead**_." Toriel giggled.

"NOT YOU TOO?!" Papyrus stomped his foot on the soft ground.

Chara gripped their knife, and muttered, "Shut up..."

Undyne laughed at Papyrus, "Aw come on, lighten up, these jokes are pretty _**bare bones**_ anyways."

Papyrus fell to his knees, "UNDYNE NOOOOOO!"

The entire crowd laughed, save Sans, who had one eye on the human. The kid wasn't looking at Sans and the group was mostly focusing on Papyrus, so he figured it couldn't hurt. He opened his left eye, revealing the blue fire underneath, and analyzed Frisk. Then, everything froze.

 _what...in the hell,_ Sans went cold, colder than usual for a skeleton. He had never seen so much murderous intent, especially from Frisk, who had never killed a soul.

"Just shut up!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face who they thought was Frisk.

"W-what's wrong, Fr-Frisk?" Alphys asked, not expecting the sudden outburst, much like everyone else. Even Sans was caught off guard.

Chara's breathing was abnormal, this wasn't happening right now. These _things_ weren't alive right, no...just a figment of their imagination. Yeah, that was it, just an hallucination...right?

"say, kiddo," Sans spoke up, eyes closed. Suddenly, Chara was enveloped in a blue light, "w-where'd ya get all that LOVE from?"

Papyrus looked shocked, "WHY, FROM US OF COURSE! WHERE ELSE WOULD IT COME FROM?"

Chara let out a small laugh, "You have _no_ idea..." Sans eyes snapped open, one blue, the other dark.

" **Where is FRISK?"**


	2. Nightmare Part 1

**(AN: Hey everyone! It's been a long week since I last updated and I've recently added something to my schedule that makes me a lot busier, so I'll do my best to try and update every week. Anyways, this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but I wanted to give you something to read while I worked on finishing the next part, that's why I decided to split them in half. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I appreciate your interest in this story. Now on to the story!)**

* * *

 **-=FRISK=-**

The blue eye that was in Sans' socket seemed to suck their being in. Frisk saw themselves, saw everything that they did. All the monsters they spared, all the friends they made. The burning orb analyzed everything that Frisk was, and they felt exposed. No secret could be hidden from it, nothing could escape judgment. Yet remembering their friends filled Frisk with determination. They saw Sans falter and he released the child from his grip. They fell roughly on the floor and found Sans holding a hand up to his left eye socket.

"what is this..what happened to all that LOVE, kiddo?" Sans grunted in pain.

Yet Frisk couldn't answer, they were too scared, too frightened. They only thing they could do was sit and cry.

The fire seeped through Sans' bony fingers, "what happened to it?"

Frisk didn't give an answer, deciding to run instead. They heard Sans shout after them but Frisk knew better, whatever had happened they weren't friends anymore, that much was clear. Sprinting past the gray cityscape, the human tripped and quickly picked themselves back up. Even from here, Frisk could see just how dull everything was, that feeling made them uneasy. Whatever had caused it, they almost didn't want to know the answer to it. In front of them, a gaster blaster appeared, and charged up. Frisk clenched their fist and, using the last ounce of their strength, dashed towards the giant skull, jumping towards it. Once they landed on it, the kid hopped off awkwardly, facing the opposite direction, as the thing fired where they had just been. The only objective now was to get away from Sans.

Soon, Frisk had gotten to where they had fought Mettaton, and noticed that the stage was empty besides a few demolished mechanical parts strewn about the entire room. Feeling creeped out, they went into MTT Resort and, to their surprise, found it was completely deserted. Except for one monster.

"Burgerpants!" They panted, running up to the counter of the restaurant.

The cat noticed the human after a few moments, "Huh? Whaddaya want, little weirdo?"

"Sans," Frisk panted again, leaning against the counter, "He's attacking me, help!"

Burgerpants raised an eyebrow, "And why would I do that? You threatened me not too long ago."

Frisk seemed confused, "What? No I didn't...actually I helped you get a 'date' with Bratty and Catty, remember?"

"Huh, really?" He looked skeptical, "Funny that, 'cause they were gone long before you even stepped in here, Nice try, little weirdo."

Taken aback, Frisk refuted, "They weren't though!"

Burgerpants, unconvinced, just sighed, "Whatever, are you gonna order something or not?"

"Uh, yeah...I'll take a Glamburger." It would be good for them to get some kind of healing item in case Sans came after them.

"120G." Immediately the amount was placed on the table. Burgerpants counted the money, and peered at Frisk, "Hm...it might be strange of me to say, but you seem different."

"What makes you say that?" Frisk questioned.

"Well, I'm not sure." Burgerpants shrugged, "I'll be back in a bit with your burger."

Suddenly Sans appeared in front of Frisk, "chara."

Frisk jumped back, but realized bones were darting in from behind. They sidestepped, narrowly dodging, and saw the bones disappear when they reached Sans.

"you think you can trick me?" The ground beneath Frisk's feet glimmered. They noticed the Mettaton fountain right next to the glowing floor and jumped on top of the rectangular robot's statue. A spike pit of bones appeared where they had just been. Relieved, Frisk kept intense watch for the next attack. Another bone flew at them, yet they jumped out of the way, landing back on the floor.

"gotcha," They heard Sans whisper. Frisk realized the hovering gaster blaster right before them too late. There was no way to dodge this one, it seemed it was well and truly over…

"Hey now!" A familiar voice shouted. The blaster suddenly stopped it's charge up, "No firing that thing in here, skull bro." Burgerpants stated. "Here, little buddy." He tossed a packaged Glamburger at the kid. He turned his attention back to the skeleton, "If my boss walks in and sees this place destroyed he'll make me listen to those CD's again," The cat shuddered, "Either buy something or get out!"

"this is not the time b-" Sans said, but stopped when he heard the entrance to the Resort opening and closing. The comedian stared at the cat angrily.

Burgerpants just laughed, "Have fun, skull bro." He took a puff from his cigarette and walked back to the kitchen.

Sans threw another angry glare in the cat's direction before teleporting away.

* * *

 **-=CHARA=-**

"Stop this Sans!" Toriel shouted.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING SANS?" Papyrus asked, concerned for the human and his brother who was acting strangely.

 _Time to take advantage of this situation,_ Chara thought. "Let me go, you're hurting me!" They shouted in faux pain.

Sans seemed undeterred, "no way, you're not our kid."

"B-but S-sans-" Alphys muttered but was interrupted.

"HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT? WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT WITH THE HUMAN! YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS." Papyrus placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Sans shook his head, "it's the fact that we have been through a lot that i know this ain't our frisk."

"Sans j-just lo-look-" Alphys tried again, yet was still interrupted.

"This is no way to treat someone who saved our lives!" Reminded Toriel.

"tori, please, you have to see that this isn't the same human."

"Sans let me go, I thought we were friends." Chara pleaded, ACTing in distress.

A blue spear shot by, sticking itself in the floor in front of everyone, "Listen up, punks!" Undyne shouted and gestured to Alphys, "Go ahead, nerd." The warrior placed a hand on Alphys' head.

Dr. Alphys blushed and pressed her index fingers together, "I-if I may in-interject...Sans, ju-just look a-at Frisk's h-hand!" Everyone looked to see that Chara's hand was stuck on the MERCY button.

"HM...I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEIR HAND," Papyrus stated. "THEREFORE MY BROTHER MUST BE RIGHT."

"Uh, Papyrus, I think Alphys meant the other hand." Undyne pointed out.

"WHAT?" Papyrus looked closer, "OH MY! 'MERCY' EH? THAT MUST BE OUR FRISK!"

"w-what, no that can't be right. that doesn't match with-" Sans said.

"Let my child go." Toriel said firmly.

Sans seemed hesitant as everyone focused their attention on him, but sure enough the blue light disappeared around Chara and the child fell a small distance, landing on their feet.

Toriel rushed towards the imposter and hugged them, "Are you hurt, child?"

"I-I'm fine." Chara replied and returned the gesture. Almost immediately, the scent of the motherly-figure flooded the murderer. _This monster...is ripe for death!_ Chara thought, an urge to kill Toriel, that was barely being restrained, surged through their body. _Kill...kill...KILL!_

It was interrupted, however, by Toriel's question, "Now, what happened here?"

Chara, knowing their eyes would betray them, hid themselves further in Toriel's clothing, "I wanted to say goodbye to someone...and then a monster attacked. I tried to Spare them but they ran off, so I've been stuck here since…" Chara attempted fake sniffle and succeeded greatly.

Toriel ran her paw through Chara's hair, "My sweet child, let me help you."

"What are you going to do?" Chara asked, genuinely curious.

Toriel smiled, "I'm going to remove the battleground, that should cause your hand to become free." She stood up, then hesitated, looking back at the human, "This ability is also a natural deterrent towards evil so it'll destroy anything else wishing to harm us."

Their eyes widened, then relaxed so to not betray their inner emotions, "That sounds amazing," They said, trying hard to sound genuine. Even they knew how evil their SOUL was. However, now they had to think of a way to stay on everyone's good side and not let them on to what they really were. Then...the real fun could begin. How bad could it be?

Toriel closed her eyes and hummed a beautiful tune. She shined brightly, before opening her eyes, and suddenly a white, transparent sphere expanded across the entire room. Chara's hand immediately became unstuck from the button, which faded. They were happy about that and everything seemed fine. Except for the crushing, agonizing pain that went throughout their body. Chara doubled over and convulsed. They could feel it...rushing through their veins, it felt like there was fire in them. They sensed the large reserve of HP quickly falling. Chara refused to scream in pain, but...it hurt so much. _What...what is this?!_ Chara thought, trying to fight against the affliction, _How could that_ beast _have such a powerful attack?_

Chara heard Toriel gasp, "Are you okay, Frisk?"

"WHAT'S GOING ON TORIEL? WHY DOES THE HUMAN LOOK TO BE IN PAIN?" Papyrus asked, his voice shaking.

"I...I don't know," Toriel seemed utterly lost as to what the human was suffering from, "Maybe humans can't handle such a spell." Toriel kneeled down and picked up Chara, embracing them, "It'll be okay, child, it will pass. I promise." Chara gripped on tightly to the mother to try and lessen their torment.

Then, a towering monster walked into the room, wearing a soft expression on his face and a crown atop his horned head. Though the great king was not expecting to walk in on such a scene, "What in the world is happening?"

Through the misery, Chara saw Asgore for the first time, the fabled 'King of All Monsters'. They weren't expecting the king to seem so...big. If they stood face to face, he would have loomed so far over Chara that the human needed to strain their neck just to be able see a glimpse of those large eyes. _So...first Toriel, then Sans, then Asgore...piece of cake,_ The thought implanted itself in their mind and Chara would have laughed but another surge of pain brought them back to the reality they were facing.

Toriel and Asgore locked eyes. "Undyne, Alphys, get him out of here!" Toriel orders.

"You're not the boss of me-" Undyne started, but was stopped by Asgore, who placed a gloved hand in front of her.

"They'll be keeping me busy right outside the room, just let me know when I may come back."

"But Asgore!"

He sighed, "There's no use arguing with her, Undyne. I've already made her upset enough as it is. Come, we'll talk of our plans for the outside world. It will be fun!" The great king lumbered out of the room with Alphys and he made sure to keep a firm hand on Undyne so she wouldn't be tempted to stay in the room.

Sans' eyes had never left the kid. _definitely evil_ , He thought, there was no doubt in his mind now. If that magic was used to push away evil, and Frisk reacted to it like that, well, that spoke volumes to the comedian. There was only one thing stopping him, and that was Toriel. Sans should have known better than to think she trusted him over the human. This was frustrating; there was no mistake that the killing intent he saw in the kid was real, so real he thought it was a separate entity. But no matter what he said or did, Toriel wouldn't budge from that fake. All he could do was watch. All he could _ever_ do was watch

Chara instantly felt a wave of relief wash over them, yet the pain was still there. There was no time, they had to kill Toriel now or risk having to fight off that beast along with everyone else. Chara took the Real Knife out of their ITEMS and, trying not to draw the other's attention, moved it near Toriel's SOUL. And then she felt Sans' eyes on them. They couldn't process what was happening quickly enough, and soon found themselves staring right back into those bottomless pits. The same ones they saw at Judgment Hall. A blue light coiled around the human, instantly squeezing the 'precious' HP out of them. Chara screamed. The agony...it was back, stronger than before. It must have been her magic, Sans' power was being amplified by that animal's magic!

"Sans! Please, stop this!" Toriel seemed to be pleading now.

Papyrus hastily tried to restrain his brother, "SANS YOU MUST STOP, FRISK IS STILL IN SHOCK FROM TORIEL'S ENCHANTMENT."

"i saw it," Sans said, "i saw that fake trying to stab toriel," He spat, "come on paps, you gotta believe me!"

Both Toriel and Papyrus looked at the comedian in shock, wondering if he was just setting up some pun or joke or _something_. Anything would have been better than hurting and accusing Frisk.

"SANS, THE HUMAN HASN'T HURT ANYONE SINCE THEY GOT HERE, THEY COULDN'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY NOT TO TORIEL."

"How could you say that?" Toriel said with utter disbelief, _First Asgore, now you,_ She thought bitterly.

Chara felt enraged. It had been building up for a while, since they first got to this strange nightmare. They couldn't hold it any longer, _That damn comedian is going to ruin my fun!_

"tori, just trust me for-" Sans started.

"He's hurting me!" Chara screamed again, this time in a more agonized wail, "Please help me...mom."

That was all Toriel needed to hear before facing the skeleton, "Unhand, my child!" A blast of fire spouted from her palm, shot across the room, and landed square on Sans' chest. For a moment, everything seemed fine.

Until wisps of his being cracked off. "no.." The skeleton tried to say, "i...they aren't…" Suddenly, the blue light surrounding Chara dissipated.

"I didn't...I didn't mean to." Toriel gulped audibly.

"S-SANS? SANS?! BROTHER Y-YOU CAN'T!"

"it's okay...paps...i'm," Sans coughed, "...going _**tibia**_ okay.." The comedian winked before the last of him disappeared, the remaining few particles floated into Toriel, giving her EXP.

Papyrus gaped at the spot his brother used to be, and orange tears streamed down his face. For so long he had thought his brother to be unbeatable. Sans always seemed like he knew what he was doing and what was going to happen. This...Papyrus knew his bro was at a loss for words at whatever was happening in the ruins. It was the first time that Papyrus had seen Sans so unsure before. And the joke he made. The _last_ joke he made. Knowing that he would never hear a bad pun or silly joke again hurt more than he could bear.

"SANS...PLEASE COME BACK...PLEASE!"

"Papyrus, I'm _so_ sorry." Toriel said, horrified in her own actions, tried to comfort him.

Chara smiled as they saw no one glancing their way. The pain had been reduced to a dull headache once Sans was out of the picture. Their mind was now clear. There was only one last thing to kill in this room.

"COME ON SANS, I PROMISE NEVER TO YELL AT YOU AGAIN FOR SLACKING OFF! O-OR MAKING THOSE PUNS THAT I HATE SO MUCH!" Papyrus was too appalled to hear Toriel. There didn't seem to be anything that could be done to save the happy go lucky skeleton from his grief.

Chara stifled a laugh, _What a pathetic creature. Now for you, goat._ "Goodbye 'mother'."

"What-?" They didn't let her finish. Her body fell over immediately, and her head rolled. The SOUL broke into pieces and soon enough Chara received the EXP. They laughed out, drunk with power. The world was at their fingertips, vigor flowed through their veins. Already this world, this 'nightmare', seemed wonderful.

"Guess you could say that was _**child's play**_." Chara laughed maliciously as the LV up notification sounded. Then a scrambling of feet, those of Asgore they assumed, resounded throughout the next room, dripping into the current one. Panic settled over them as there was no exit from this room. After Toriel and Sans' attack, one shot would be enough to end their life right then and there, and unfortunately for Chara, they hadn't saved at all during this whole ordeal. Perhaps that was what this nightmare wanted to show them?

It was only after a few seconds that Asgore barged into the room...and discovered Papyrus alone, standing over a pile of dust.


	3. Nightmare Part 2

**(AN: Geez, took me long enough. Sorry about the long wait but college has completely taken over my life. I promise I'll be better about updating though, so don't worry, I've already started on the next chapter. I had a blast writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!)**

* * *

Frisk tried going to the stage, however they found debris blocking their way, so they instead got inside the elevator. The only button that was lit read 'L1', and after pressing it the elevator shuddered to life and went down. The heat from Hotland was much more intense this time, even being able to feel it from inside MT Resort. Ever since they got here, Frisk hadn't had a chance for rest, except for right now of course, but the heat was getting to them. When the elevator creaked to a stop and the doors opened, Frisk immediately saw the LAB in the distance, thinking it would be a perfect place to hide from Sans' onslaught.

The door to the large building did require a bit of tough love, but they eventually got inside and, to their relief, found it much cooler than outside. However, the expectation of it being vacant was not met. The lights were all on and even the equipment was operational. Almost immediately, memories of the times had with Mettaton and Alphys flooded their memory and sent them into a daze of nostalgia. Quickly shaking their head, Frisk decided that now was the time to assess the situation and make sure Sans wasn't getting close. Stepping up to the large computer, Frisk was about to open the camera feed when an alarm suddenly blared. Frisk wouldn't be too surprised about that if they didn't hear footsteps coming from the True Lab. The merciful human hid under the desk as the mysterious person entered the room.

One step…

Then another…

Slow but confident, Frisk could tell they were being serious about something. Their heart was thumping loudly, not wanting to fight Sans again. Anything but that.

Then the person stepped up to the terminal and began typing. Noticing the bright, white lab coat and the yellow feet, Frisk decided to be brave.

"Alphys?" Frisk asked, feeling a little relieved. The feet jumped back and suddenly a scaly hand wrapped around Frisk's ankle, "What?" The human found themselves sailing through the air and then landing on the hard-tiled floor below. The air was knocked out of their lungs as they struggled to look up.

Alphys stared at the human, trembling, "I-I was re-really hoping y-you'd never c-come back." That's when Frisk noticed a knife in Alphys' grip. They got up quickly and braced themselves for anything.

 _A fight with Alphys? This can't be happening…_ But thinking on it now, they had never fought Sans either…just what was this place?

Despair didn't have time to fill their heart as Alphys spoke once more, "B-but no-now that you're h-here, I o-owe it to everyone else…t-to kill y-you." The familiar flash of black and white appeared as the battle commenced. Alphys looked ready to strike, but she sighed dishearteningly, the knife clattered to the floor, "Oh, who am I kidding, I could n-never hurt anyone…" For only a second Frisk was hopeful, that Alphys understood who they were, but that lasted only a second, "I c-could never, never h-hurt someone…like this. It-It's too barbaric. To-too much like you."

The words stung, and they felt real, _too_ real. After all these accusations by two of their friends, Frisk was questioning whether this was a dream or a nightmare. This couldn't be real, they would never hurt someone, they _could never_ hurt someone...right?

Alphys pointed a disdainful finger at Frisk, "No, I'll be doing this my way." Miniature versions of Mettaton flooded the room, "Try this on for size!" They all rushed Frisk who, fortunately, still had the phone. Pulling it out, they managed to blast several of the robots, giving them enough time to dodge the oncoming wave. Now it was their turn, Frisk pressed 'ACT' and the options presented confused the child; 'Check', 'Taunt', 'Threaten', 'Bully'. _What in the world is with these options?_ The human opted to choose 'Spare' instead.

"What…? Why?" Alphys said, taken aback by the action. Another wave of Mettatons flew at Frisk, who masterfully dodged them all, only needing to destroy a couple this time. Once again, they chose 'Spare'.

"You choose to spare now?" Several bombs fell from the ceiling, and Frisk responded by blasting them with the phone. Alphys registered another 'Spare'.

"After all this time…" Blue and orange lasers came up from the floor. Standing still and moving when needed, the child once again managed to avoid Alphys' attack. 'Spare' was selected once more.

"After everyone you killed." Metton bots gathered on both sides of Frisk and charged as lasers fired at them. They jumped back, allowing the little robots to crash into each other and they toppled over. Then, they hesitated, but that stillness was enough to allow a blue laser to cut part of their arm and singe one side of their beloved striped shirt. The human lifted the wounded arm weakly and hit 'Spare'.

"Undyne…Papyrus…Now, w-when I-I wanted to die the most! You ignore me." Frisk had become more hesitant to touch the 'Spare' button, because each turn meant listening to another accusation. They were taking their toll on the child, even making them believe that they were true. Frisk was losing their will to fight… _No, I didn't kill anyone…I_ know _I didn't!_ But they still had to get to the bottom of this twisted mystery. Why was Sans and Alphys fighting them with all their might?

The last Mettaton bot slowly glided toward Frisk with its umbrella in hand. The child easily let it pass by unharmed and pressed 'Spare' once again. Alphys stomped her foot, "That's it! Take my special attack!" she pulled a remote control from her lab coat and pressed a shimmering button. The floor underneath Frisk suddenly lit up. They expected the worst, then a disco ball came down from the ceiling, "You should have listened to Papyrus." Alphys said. Frisk needed only a glimpse to see the floor had arranged itself in an array of assorted colors. The same puzzle that Mettaton and Papyrus used. They found themselves on a pink tile, yet all surrounding tiles were yellow, meaning there was no way forward. A blue light shone from the disco ball above the human, and it moved towards them, leaving behind a path of smoldering destruction.

There was no way Frisk could escape this, Alphys really intended to kill them! However, Frisk wouldn't give up so easily, there had to be something they could do. Seeing the 'ACT' button shimmering, the child peered at the option curiously, and upon seeing the action, determination filled their SOUL. They knew they only had one shot to pull it off, so Frisk gave themselves as much room as possible before taking off. They jumped onto the yellow tile and immediately felt the effects, but using the momentum and before being pushed back, Frisk jumped once more. This time they landed on a purple tile, so their momentum was completely lost as they slipped into a blue tile.

Frisk decided to judge the battlefield before continuing, making it Alphys' turn, "H-how is th-this even p-possible? You won't s-survive this!" Three more disco balls appeared immediately and spun, each spouting out a beam heading towards Frisk's location. They noticed that the beams were destroying the tiles underneath, and there was a path leading straight to Alphys. Jumping through the orange beam, Frisk landed on a broken tile and ran straight for the scaled doctor.

Alphys panicked, pressing as many buttons as she could to stop the oncoming human, "Come on, c-come on! Alphys tried to get the disco balls to fire again, but to no luck as they were recharging. _I can't believe this…after all of that…is this what Undyne went through?_ She thought sullenly as all hope escaped the doctor. Then, the human was upon her.

And their arms wrapped around Alphys, as the doctor noticed the action selected was 'Comfort'.

"You're a lot stronger than I thought. Even as a person…you're a lot stronger than me," Frisk said. Alphys wanted to struggle against the human, who had killed all dear to her, yet she had lost all strength. She felt at peace for the first time in so long, and wanted nothing more than to return the hug. But she couldn't allow that. This child hadn't changed, they were just manipulating her so that they could find the other monsters. Alphys had to end it here and now.

The scaled doctor gripped Frisk strongly, "I won't allow you to hurt anyone else!" A surge of seemingly random words and numbers escaped Alphys' mouth.

"You destroyed everything we loved, everything!" _Buzzing_ and _whrring_ could be heard throughout the entire building.

 **LAB PURGE EMINENT** A robotic voiced stated over the intercom.

"What?! Alphys, stop this!" Frisk struggled to free themselves, managing to get a hand free.

"They won't forgive me for doing this…but they would understand that I must get rid of you." The robotic voice returned to give the final countdown. The human was at a loss for words, why wasn't Alphys responding to their action? This wasn't supposed to happen, to even pick such an extreme method, what had Frisk done? Suddenly Alphys froze, and Frisk realized it was their turn. They quickly pressed 'Flee' and found themselves outside the LAB.

Running away, Frisk couldn't stop the tears streaming down their face as the realization of what was happening hit. Alphys wouldn't be able to escape in time. Alphys wouldn't survive that. _Why would she do that?_ Frisk held they sides of their head, as if their being would break apart at any second. They weren't ready for this, for something so _horrifying_. They wanted to wake up now. Yes, that was it, it had to be! It was all a nightmare, a scary nightmare sure, but that's all it was. The tears slowed their assault as Frisk crossed the bridge.

Any moment now they would wake up to Toriel cooking snail pie, and this time they'd gladly eat it. Then they would go play with Papyrus, Undyne, and even Sans, and Alphys. Sans would have some puns up his sleeve and laze about, Papyrus would chide Sans on the choice of jokes and make delicious spaghetti, Undyne and Alphys would watch anime and completely nerd out, and Frisk would enjoy their company. The thought brought a smile to the once distraught child. Everything was okay. Everything was fine now, everything was-

 _ **Boom**_

Frisk's eyes widened as a deafening explosion filled Hotland. Turning back, they saw the LAB being obliterated, along with most of Hotland. Places that were once stable fell into the lava below. Even the CORE shuddered as pipes and panels were knocked loose by debris, from the LAB and from the Underground itself. The aftermath of the explosion was catching up quickly with Frisk, a large tsunami of dust, heat, and debris. The young child had no hope to escape it, even they knew that. They only stood there, as they saw their sins confront them, sins thought to have not been committed.

This was their punishment, this was what they were due.

And Frisk let it consume them.


End file.
